Type 26 frigate

HMS Glasgow, on barge for transport to Glen Mallan for launch in 2022
Class overview
NameType 26 frigate
BuildersBAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships
Operators
Preceded by
Subclasses
Cost
  • UK Batch 1: £1.31 billion (2022)[1] per unit (est.)
  • UK Batch 2: £4.2 billion (2022)[2] for 5 units (est.)
  • Australia: A$35 billion (2018)[3] for 9 units + ToT (est.)
  • Canada: CA$69.8 billion (2019)[4] for 15 units + ToT (est.)
BuiltContract award announced 2 July 2017[5]
In serviceFrom 2028 (planned)[a][7][8]
Planned
Building6 (4 x RN[9] and 1 x RAN and 1 x RCN)
General characteristics (City class)
TypeAnti-submarine warfare frigate[8]
Displacement
  • 7,700 tonnes (7,600 long tons; 8,500 short tons) light shipweight[13]
  • 8,000 tonnes (7,900 long tons; 8,800 short tons) full load[14][15]
Length149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)[16]
Beam20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)[16]
Propulsion
SpeedIn excess of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)[16]
RangeIn excess of 7,000 nmi (13,000 km) in electric-motor (EM) drive[16]
Boats & landing
craft carried		2
Complement157[16] (capacity for 208)[16]
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
Aircraft carriedWildcat[c] or AgustaWestland Merlin [d]
Aviation facilitiesAccommodation for two helicopters, Chinook-capable flight deck, Enclosed hangar and Facilities for UAVs
NotesFlexible mission bay[27]

The Type 26 frigate, also known as City-class frigate, is a class of frigates and destroyers being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built for the Australian and Canadian navies.[9] The programme, known as the Global Combat Ship, was launched by the British Ministry of Defence to partially replace the navy's thirteen Type 23 frigates, and for export.[28] Its primary role is to conduct advanced anti-submarine warfare missions while supporting air defence and general purpose operations.[16] The type is the first naval platform shared between Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom since the pre-Second World War Tribal-class destroyer.

The programme began in 1998, under what was then known as the Future Surface Combatant (FSC). By March 2010 however, this procurement programme had evolved to become the Global Combat Ship, following the announcement of a four-year, £127 million design contract being awarded to BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships.[29] The primary development phase started on 1 April 2015 and in August 2015, the first long lead time items for Type 26 were ordered, with manufacturing then expected to begin in 2016 and the first Type 26 to be delivered in 2023.[30] Subsequently, the commissioning date for the first ship of the class slipped to late 2026, with initial operating capability now anticipated from 2028.[6] The frigates will be built at BAE Systems' Govan and Scotstoun yards on the River Clyde in Glasgow.[31] The contract award to manufacture the Type 26 was announced by BAE Systems on 2 July 2017,[5] with steel cut for the first of class, HMS Glasgow on 20 July 2017.[32]

In June 2018, the Australian Government announced that it had selected a modified version of the Type 26 platform as the planned replacement for its Anzac-class frigate.[33] The Royal Australian Navy will procure six Hunter-class frigates which will be constructed by BAE Systems Australia at ASC's shipyard in Osborne, South Australia.[11]

On 8 February 2019, the Canadian government awarded Lockheed Martin Canada a C$185 million contract to design a fleet of up to 15 warships based on the Type 26 (the Canadian Surface Combatant), with a total program cost of $60 billion. The amount of the contract will increase as the design work increases. The initial design contract is with Irving Shipbuilding of Halifax, Nova Scotia.[34]

  1. ^ Glaze, Ben (2 November 2022). "Royal Navy's new submarine-hunting frigate hit by year's delay - costing £233m". Mirror. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  2. ^ Donaldson, Kitty (14 November 2022). "UK Awards BAE £4.2 Billion Contract for Royal Navy Frigates". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. ^ Pittaway, Nigel (29 June 2018). "Australia officially announces $26B frigate contract. Here are the build details". Defense News.
  4. ^ "Canadian Surface Combatant project found to cost more than $52.7bn". Naval Technology. 25 June 2019. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Manufacturing contract for Type 26 Global Combat Ship awarded to BAE Systems". BAE Systems. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  6. ^ a b "In focus: Delivering the Type 26 Frigates | Navy Lookout". 12 December 2022.
  7. ^ Tringham, Kate (4 November 2022). "IOC for UK Royal Navy's first-in-class Type 26 frigate to be delayed by 12 months". Janes. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d "SDSR 2015 Defence Fact Sheets" (PDF). UK Ministry of Defence. 15 January 2016. p. 10. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  9. ^ a b "First of Royal Navy's new frigates named HMS Glasgow". STV News. STV. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  10. ^ "Britain's Future Frigates: Type 26 Global Combat Ships". Archived from the original on 8 November 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  11. ^ a b Wroe, David (28 June 2018). "British frigate program to seed Australia's own warship industry, Turnbull says". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference CAN01 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee_2024_06_06". Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee. 6 June 2024.
  14. ^ Chuter, Andrew (9 November 2014). "Britain Struggles With Costs for New Frigates". Defense News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015.
  15. ^ Lord Palmer of Childs Hill (26 January 2015), "Defence: Type 26 Frigates", House of Lords, col 6, archived from the original on 8 March 2017
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference BAE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NR20130110 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ a b "Type 26 Frigate – Global Combat Ship". www.navyrecognition.com. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  19. ^ "New navigation radar system for Royal Navy – News stories – GOV.UK". Archived from the original on 30 June 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  20. ^ "IMO Certified Naval Radar Solution". Terma. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  21. ^ "MOD written question". Hansard. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  22. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (13 November 2020). "Canada's New Frigate Will Be Brimming With Missiles". The Drive. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  23. ^ Scott, Richard (4 December 2014), "UK confirms Mk 41 VLS selection for Type 26", Jane's Navy International, IHS, archived from the original on 7 December 2014
  24. ^ Allison, George (1 August 2017). "BAE video shows Type 26 Frigate customised for Australia". UK Defence Journal. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  25. ^ "£183 million deal for new gun on Type 26 Global Combat Ship sustains 43 skilled UK jobs". Royal Navy. 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  26. ^ An in-depth look at the Type 26 frigate design. United Kingdom: Navy Lookout. 1 January 2023. Event occurs at 9:53 minutes in. Retrieved 2 January 2023 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (20 July 2017). "Everything You Need To Know About The Royal Navy's New Type 26 Frigates". The Drive. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  28. ^ Type 26 Global Combat Ship Archived 29 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  29. ^ "Global Combat Ship". BAE Systems. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  30. ^ "First parts ordered for UK's new Type 26 frigates". Janes. 6 August 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  31. ^ "BAE Systems engaging the Type 26 supply chain. The supply chains for a modern warship are complex and call for careful management, as defence writer Mark Lane discovers talking to BAE Systems' Gary McCloskey". www.contracts.mod.uk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2017.
  32. ^ "First Type 26 frigate named HMS Glasgow". BBC. 20 July 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  33. ^ "The Hunter class – defending Australia and securing our shipbuilding sovereignty". 29 June 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  34. ^ "Ottawa awards design contract for $60-billion warship fleet to Lockheed Martin". CTV News. 8 February 2019. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.


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